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SO Photography Contest Discussion!!

idk if this goes here ... but I was disqualified because I post-processed my photo ... Post processing is part of a good photo, and anybody should be allowed to do it. Everybody does editing, even film photographers ... Why this is not allowed ... I don't understand. It's limiting the photographer, its creativity ...

I understand not allowing highly altered photos, that don't even look real or natural anymore, but well done editing should be allowed and encouraged. Contrast, white balance, color correction etc should be allowed ... like I said, these are things that even a film photographer edits while developing the photos in a dark room.

This rule is really stupid. Some random person on bluelight decided editing is not allowed ... gay.

*edit*
The rules say "to put everybody on the same level" ... u meant for people who don't have photoshop right? Well any digi cam comes with a simple editing software, you can download free software from the internet etc. Seriously, why have good pictures when we can have very good pictures? Just keep the editing to a minimum.
 
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Not everyone can edit, everyone can take a photo even if its with a crappy camera phone.
 
^^ yeah everybody can take a picture, but if somebody puts more effort into it, why should they be punished? Why dumb down the people who actually know what they're doing to make the people who don't care or don't know feel better about themselves?
 
Anyone with a bit of practice and nice kit can take a really good quality photo, but these competitions are more about finding something quirky that fits the topic, and not just a professional pic of the obvious choices.
 
I think the resizing issue needs to be looked at again, because I thought the bluelight software resized it automatically these days & I'd love to see the full big pictures in these comps. As camera's become more powerful, the pixel size increases & I feel mine always look quite shit after a resize down to 700. I know I'm not the best photographer, but there have been times I've decided to not post because it didn't do them any justice whatsoever.

It would be interesting to try one round with full size photos just to see the difference in quality.
 
As for the editing, it's always been limited to just resizing and cropping because one person's heavy manipulation of a photograph could be another person's light manipulation. Drawing a line with editing is hard.

I do agree that some of the themes are a bit broad, but I like to see how different people interpret different themes. I think that's part of the fun in the contests. I usually try to judge 50/50 by theme and the quality of the photo and I'd encourage others to do the same. The photo could be absolutely incredible but if it doesn't go with the theme it probably shouldn't get as many votes as an entry that is perfect for the theme but might be a lower quality photo.

Cletus, you're encouraged to post a link to a full-sized image with your entry if you don't think the 700 by 700 would do it justice.
 
So this is not a photography contest, it's more like "post whatever crap fits the theme best" ...mirite?
 
Come on now there's really no need for that. This is a harmless photo competition to give a lot of us an interest & encourage us to take more photographs, especially of interesting things & places we've been. I thought you would at least recognise that. Spitting your dummy out & making a sweeping statement that insults the whole board for their submissions is just childish.

Your photographs are fantastic, there is no denying that, but I'm sure there are plenty of other websites that would be honoured to have you. <3


@ spork - you are correct, I can do that, but the final voting will only be the smaller version on show, but hey, rules is rules & I can live with that easily. Unlike some ;) :D
 
romaniaK said:
idk if this goes here ... but I was disqualified because I post-processed my photo ... Post processing is part of a good photo, and anybody should be allowed to do it. Everybody does editing, even film photographers ... Why this is not allowed ... I don't understand. It's limiting the photographer, its creativity ...

I understand not allowing highly altered photos, that don't even look real or natural anymore, but well done editing should be allowed and encouraged. Contrast, white balance, color correction etc should be allowed ... like I said, these are things that even a film photographer edits while developing the photos in a dark room.

This rule is really stupid. Some random person on bluelight decided editing is not allowed ... gay.

*edit*
The rules say "to put everybody on the same level" ... u meant for people who don't have photoshop right? Well any digi cam comes with a simple editing software, you can download free software from the internet etc. Seriously, why have good pictures when we can have very good pictures? Just keep the editing to a minimum.
Click to expand...

Woah woah easy there, killer. Let me try and break this down proper-like.

Not everyone has photoshop (or image manipulating software), and even if they do, not everyone is proficient at it. So in order to try and create an even playing field post-processing was eliminated.

Does it suck? Yes and no. There are people here who do photoshopping and graffic artist type stuff for a living, they could take a mediocre picture and process it all to hell and sweep the competitions. That's certainly not fair. There are times when I would like to adjust my own shots; dodge and burn shadowy areas, add reflections to eyes, fix stray hairs, bump up the sharpening a little bit, change the tint - but then it would almost look *too* good and processed.

"Post processing is a part of a good photo" - I agree to an extent. PP is just as much a skill as photography is, let's be clear on this. But I think you are confusing "image creation" with "photography." When I shoot weddings and senior pictures I am in the business of creating the best image I can - this often times requires Lightroom, Photoshop, etc. Image creation and picture taking are two entirely different types of animals.

You are right, you can do a lot "in camera". I can saturate, desaturate, crop, change color channels, boost contrast, convert, rotate, etc on my D300 in camera, so I have been accused of cheating in the past too. I cant help my camera is better, but it's not cheating because no PP is used. You can also use filters, different white balance settings, different scene "modes" to create special effects too.

In the end, I feel your pain, but there's no point complaining. Not when you are easily free to start your own photo contests where post-processing IS allowed. Call it the "anything goes photoshoppers haven contest" for all I care. :)
 
^^ Thanks BA :)

And we need to keep in mind that it is a fun, light-hearted "contest" which is actually more likened to a SHARING of our work. Nothing more, nothing less. It's nice to put effort in but when people start taking it too seriously, it dampens the fun aspect of it.
 
alright ... I'll do it for teh funs. with no photoshop ... I don't wanna argue and maybe I seemed a little harsh yesterday, but I was recovering from a night of craziness
 
Time for an update.

Completed themes are listed at the bottom of this post, but I'll double check to see if I missed anything out tomorrow.

Subjects still to be covered:

60's, 70's, 80's, 90's - NinjaDan
7 (in general) - Jamshyd Coming Soon! (July 19 - July 25)
7 Deadly Sins: Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and Sloth - Mz_Thizzle
7 Heavenly Virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Justice, Fortitude, Charity, Hope, and Faith - Mz_Thizzle
A turning point - panic in paradise
Abstract/unidentifiable - Impacto Profundo
Action - SA
Adjectives - IAMTHOUGHTS
Anachronism - n3ophy7e
Anything Goes (aka "photographers choice" - use of photoshop etc) - BA
Attraction - IAMTHOUGHTS
Beauty - Pillthrill Coming Soon! (July 12 - July 18 )
Belligerent - Impacto Profundo
Bricks - felix
Carousels - Mz Thizzle
Castles - felix
Change - IAMTHOUGHTS
Cigarettes and coffee - mindtools
Circles / Squares / Triangles (Shapes?) - CletusVanDow
City - n3ophy7e
Clashing colours - n3ophy7e
Clockwork - Jamshyd
Colorfulness - mindtools
Computer - Impacto Profundo
Connected - IAMTHOUGHTS
Crime Scene Creation (fake obviously!!) - tribal girl
Cute - n3ophy7e
Death - Pillthrill
Discovery - IAMTHOUGHTS
Earth Connection - mr_p
Electronics - mindtools
Emergency! (vehicles, fires, lifeboats, people etc.) - Felix
Erotic/Erotica - Jude101
Faces Of The Earth - felix
Fantasy - pennywise
Favourite holiday photo (open round) - felix
Feast/festival - Jamshyd
First leafs/buds/petals - Jamshyd
Flash photography - CletusVanDow
Flying Machines - pennywise
Funny Faces - pennywise Coming Soon! (July 26 - August 01 )
Gardens - felix Coming Soon! (August 16 - August 22 )
Glory - Jamshyd
Graveyards - felix
Gravity - IAMTHOUGHTS
Green (ecologically friendly) - spork
History - Impacto Profundo
Houses/Homes - pennywise
Iconography - pennywise
Imagination - IAMTHOUGHTS
Indecisiveness - panic in paradise
Inertia - IAMTHOUGHTS
Innocent - Impacto Profundo
Intellect - spork
Isolation - n3ophy7e
Juxtaposition - (possibly old versus new?) - CletusVanDow
Landmarks/Monuments - pennywise
Law - IAMTHOUGHTS
Letters B to Z (25 more rounds here!!) - Impacto Profundo
Life or Death - Tribal Girl
Life styles - panic in paradise
Lock(s) / Lock(s) and Key(s) - Mz_Thizzle
Luck - Impacto Profundo
Magic - Impacto Profundo
Magnificence - IAMTHOUGHTS
Minimalism - n3ophy7e
Motion blur - mindtools
Mountains - pennywise
Multi-coloured - n3ophy7e
Multicultural - Jamshyd
Music - Felix
My City - spork Coming Soon! (August 09 - August 15)
My Favorite Food - spork
My Favourite Song - Impacto Profundo
New beginnings - n3ophy7e
Noise - Jamshyd
Nouns - IAMTHOUGHTS
Odd - CletusVanDow
Old age - mindtools
Outrageous - Jamshyd
Over-edited - mindtools
Overexposed - mindtools
Panorama - mindtools
Paparazzi Style - Johnny1
Parties/Bars - pennywise
Pizza (?) - Impacto Profundo
Popular Culture - pennywise
Pray - Impacto Profundo
Pressure - spork
Psychedelic - Damien Coming Soon! (August 02 - August 08 )
Rail - Jamshyd
Real magic - panic in paradise
Relaxation - n3ophy7e
Revival - Jamshyd
Salience - Jamshyd
Sanctuary - harley89
Sea/Ocean - Felix
Silence - Dave
Silly faces - Felix
Skin - NinjaDan
Sleep/dreams - n3ophy7e
Stained glass - panic in paradise
Sterile - Jamshyd
Still Life - SA
Strangers - n3ophy7e
Team Spirit - spork
Texture - n3ophy7e
That which I am (Tat Tvam Assi) - Jamshyd
Transcend - Impacto Profundo
Twisted metal - panic in paradise
Ugly - atri
Urban - Dave
Verbs - IAMTHOUGHTS
Vertigo - Impacto Profundo
Wastefulness - Felix
Water - mindtools
Waterways - Rogue Robot Current Theme!! Do eet now!!
Wheels - SA
Widescreen - Felix
Wind - IAMTHOUGHTS
Wish - Impacto Profundo
Yearning - Jamshyd
(The) Zodiac - Jamshyd
Click to expand...
:)


3 different perspectives - NinjaDan
50's - NinjaDan
A room in your house! - felix
Bluelighter name/ bluelighter's handle - Impacto Profundo
Weathered/Dilapidated - n3ophy7e
Letter A - Impacto Profundo
Looking Up - SA
Politics - Jamshyd
Simplicity - SA
Vivid ???
 
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Why thank you kindly, ya makin' me blush
blushz.gif
 
Cletus, time for you to get back to work! :p I have another theme suggestion. :D

'Lock(s)', or maybe 'lock(s) and key(s)'

Also, I have a picture I really want to enter but I cant think of a theme or category for it :(
 
Mz_Thizzle said:
Cletus, time for you to get back to work! :p I have another theme suggestion. :D

'Lock(s)', or maybe 'lock(s) and key(s)'

Also, I have a picture I really want to enter but I cant think of a theme or category for it :(
Click to expand...

Nice idea re: Lock and Key, I like it.

Also, just put that photo aside and wait until a theme comes around that it fits. That's what I did with the one I just entered last week (and won whooo! :D). I took the photo like 9 months ago and just waited for the right theme to come round :)

Or better yet, think up a theme that fits the photo and suggest it ;)
 
Mz_Thizzle said:
Cletus, time for you to get back to work! :p I have another theme suggestion. :D

'Lock(s)', or maybe 'lock(s) and key(s)'

Also, I have a picture I really want to enter but I cant think of a theme or category for it :(
Click to expand...

No problem at all - all done :D

C'mon folks, even though there's a rather long list, still feel free to add your suggestions here & I'll put them on the list.
 
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